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Here's what happened:
The lovely PR for The Townhouse, Stratford-upon-Avon, got in touch to tell me about the recent amazing renovation of its 12 ensuite bedrooms and revamp of the menu. She completely sold it to me, especially because the bar/restaurant is dog-friendly. I said yes to popping down to check it out.
I told my other half we were off to Stratford. He loved the idea too. The day came, and when we were researching, in separate rooms of our house, the best route to drive there, we both realised it was -upon-Avon, and not 'the Westfield one'.
When we stopped laughing, we got in the car and off we went. Off to Shakespeare's birthplace. Off to check out The Townhouse's food. With Dhillon the Daxie in tow. Two-and-a-half hours later we arrived, sun still shining, and instantly we fell in love with the place.
The architecture, the people, the cute little shops, the greenery, the river walk. The Townhouse! We had both been before, but years and years and years ago.
The Townhouse is the kind of home-away-from-home gastro pub that all the locals frequent, so you know it's good. It's all welcoming colours on the walls, wooden chairs, chalk board menus and super friendly staff. Dhillon was the only dog in when we were there, and he was loving the attention.
A bowl of water for him accompanied our gin cocktails, chosen from the extensive list of gins available - all amazing. I could have just made my way through those instead of actually eaten!
But I'm glad we ate. It was gorgeous. To start, I had the salad of smoked salmon & crab, which was perfectly salty and oily in equal measures, and the husband had the cheddar soufflé, which he said was cloud-like in texture and yummy on the taste buds.
For main, I couldn't help myself... I had the fish and chips - expertly crisped, with the best mushy peas I've ever had - and he had 8oz rump steak, which he cooed over.
The apple & raspberry crumble, and sticky toffee pudding with honeycomb ice-cream finished off this amazing meal perfectly.
Dhillon was licking his lips the whole time, and he actually got a taste of the cod which he LOVED. He told me so!
Dogs aren't allowed in the main restaurant at the front of the Townhouse, the pictures you see above are all towards the back, where pups are welcome. This is fine by me, and is quite normal. Dhillon was allowed to sit in between us too, on the leather booth seats, so it felt like he wasn't just there as an after thought.
The rooms look gorgeous too, but they aren't dog friendly at the moment. They start at £105 per night, bed & breakfast. See more about The Townhouse here.